NHL Prepared for Lockout If No Deal by Sept. 15

NEW YORK — With time running out on NHL labor talks, commissioner Gary Bettman cautioned Thursday that the league is prepared to lock out its players if a new collective bargaining agreement isn’t reached by Sept. 15, when the current deal expires.
“Time is running short and the owners are not prepared to operate under this collective bargaining agreement for another season, so we need to get to making a deal and doing it soon,” Bettman said after the two sides met at the league headquarters.